Juan Hernandez started working on SpaceX in 2015 as a welder with a salary of US$28 per hour. What seemed like just another job at the company Elon Musk ended up changing his life when he received shares valued at US$10 thousand and then bought others with part of your income.
After the historic IPO of the company, the 6,500 shares that it still preserves reached a value close to US$880 thousandin addition to others that he had already sold to buy properties in Texas and create a real estate business along with his wife.
The 42-year-old Mexican started as a contractor in the company and later became part of the permanent staff. As part of his compensation he received shares valued at US$10 thousanda benefit that he did not consider particularly important at the time.
“I didn’t know anything about it then, I didn’t imagine it would become so important,” Hernández recalled when referring to the shares he received when he was hired.
For a decade he participated in the manufacturing of structures used in SpaceX launch systems and rose to the position of supervisor. In addition to keeping the initial shares, he took the opportunity to acquire more shares with part of his salary.
With the growth of the companyHernández began to understand the value of that decision. As of 2020, he sold a portion of his securities, allowing him to buy properties in Texas and create a small real estate business together with his wife.
It currently retains around 6,500 SpaceX shareswhich at the company’s starting price on Nasdaq were valued at approximately US$880 thousanda figure that increased after the company’s strong stock market performance on its first day of trading, as reported The Nation.
“Thanks to SpaceX, you see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said the worker, remembering how the actions transformed his financial situation.
Actions that changed lives
Hernández believes that granting shares to employees strengthens their commitment to the company and improves their performance.
“Your performance will be much better because, at the end of the day, it is your company too,” he said.
The Mexican assures that the benefit did not only reach engineers or senior executives, but also workers in different areas.
“He made it possible for people like us, you know, the cook or the electrician,” he said, referring to Musk.
He also highlighted that the businessman has contributed to improving the quality of life of thousands of families linked to the company.
“It is greatly improving the lives of all these people and giving greater meaning to their families as well,” he added.
Now he works for Jeff Bezos
Despite having achieved a privileged economic position, Hernández did not abandon the aerospace industry. Last year he left SpaceX and currently works at Blue Originthe space company founded by Jeff Bezos.
As he explained, continuing to work is part of the values that he learned as an immigrant and that he wants to transmit to his children.
One of their main objectives now is to teach them financial education. His 16-year-old daughter already has her own investments and shares in technology companies like Meta.
“She is also a small entrepreneur,” he commented proudly.
Elon Musk becomes the world’s first billionaire
SpaceX’s IPO also marked a milestone for its founder. According to market estimates, Elon Musk He became the world’s first billionaire thanks to the valuation of its stakes in SpaceX and Tesla.
The company debuted on Nasdaq with a price of US$150 per shareabove the US$135 set in the initial public offering. At the close of the day, the shares registered a rise of more than 19%, raising the market capitalization of SpaceX to more than US$2.1 billion (US$2.1 trillion in English).
The success of the operation turned the aerospace company into one of the most valuable companies on the planet and allowed thousands of employees to see the value of the shares they received for years as part of their compensation multiply.
For Juan Hernández, that stock offer that one day seemed like a minor detail ended up becoming the opportunity that changed the course of his life.
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